


Family is Forever

by NikAdair



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: And Krolia wants to do the same, Broganes (because this seems obligatory to add), Post season 7 but pre season 8, Shiro is still very much in love with Adam, Shiro wants to thank Krolia for watching out for Keith, The others are mentioned but not important to the story, canonverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:22:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25091566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NikAdair/pseuds/NikAdair
Summary: They walked in a comfortable silence, Krolia humming to herself as Shiro followed her. They passed various doors and a few hallways before he broke the silence. “I wanted to thank you, for being there for Keith while I was, well…” he trailed off, scratching the back of his head.Krolia chuckled, turning off into an empty lounge and sitting on one of the couches. Shiro followed, sitting on the couch opposite of her. “I should be the one thanking you for taking care of him while I was gone. I saw some of his memories while we were in the quantum abyss. You raised him so well. He reminds me a bit of his father.”
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Family is Forever

**Author's Note:**

> This was my piece for the VLD Heart and Home Family Zine that I wrote like a year and a half ago. I was fixing up my Tumblr Fic List and didn't see this one on there, so I guess I just never posted it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

A soft  _ thunk _ sounded down the hall as the doors closed, closing out the sound of rain on the pavement. Shiro shook his head, droplets spraying around him. His hair lay limp against his forehead, and he frowned a little.  _ I really should get this cut, _ he thought to himself as he walked down the hall.

“You’d think the garrison would have a better way to get to the medical wing without having to walk in the rain,” Shiro grumbled to himself as he turned down another hallway, hearing laughter coming from one of the rooms. He paused as he passed the first room, seeing Lance and his family. He was telling him of their trip to Thayserix. Everyone seemed on the edge of their seats as he told them about how Allura saved them.

He moved on, and saw Hunk with his parents and Shay, telling them about his adventures on the Balmera and how he and Shay met. He remembered that mission, and smiled at the memory.

The next room was Pidge and her family. She and Matt were telling their parents about how they had taken out the Galra bounty hunter, and their parents seemed really impressed with them.

Allura’s room was next to theirs, and as he passed, Shiro heard Romelle telling them about the Altean colony she had lived at. He saw a card on the side table that he guessed was from Lance, based on the picture that was scrawled on the corner. He kept walking, stopping outside the next room.

Keith was sitting against the wall, a bandage wrapped around his head from his crash landing. Kosmo was sitting at the end, curled around Keith’s feet. Kolivan was leaning against the wall next to the window, looking outside at something Shiro couldn’t guess. Krolia was sitting on the bed with Keith, her back towards him. He listened to them as he stood there.

“We’d flown through the quantum abyss looking for that colony that Romelle was talking about, but we couldn’t find it. Though I did see some interesting memories from Kolivan,” Krolia said, her head turning towards where Kolivan stood. Kolivan grunted, waving a hand, and Keith laughed.

“I mean, being part of the blade, he was bound to see and do some interesting things,” Keith said. Shiro chuckled, remembering Keith’s first encounter with them. The whole thing with the trials was definitely an interesting way to be introduced to them.

“Trust me, some of these things I did not need to know,” Krolia said, and Keith made a fake gagging sound, causing Kolivan to turn to look at them. Keith’s gags devolved into laughter, and Krolia joined him.

“No one said you had to watch them,” Kolivan grumbled as he turned back to the window. Keith kept laughing, and Krolia shook her head. Shiro smiled at them, and turned to leave. He heard the bed creak and Krolia speak.

“Shiro, I didn’t hear you walk in,” she said, causing Shiro to turn. He took a few steps into the room, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall next to the door. Keith turned to look at him, as did Kolivan.

“I was passing by and wanted to see how Keith was doing. I didn’t mean to intrude,” Shiro said. Krolia laughed a little, standing. Kosmo looked over at them, crawling to take her spot as she walked over to him.

“I was actually gonna find you, because I wanted to talk to you,” Krolia said, placing a hand on Shiro’s upper arm. She turned to look at Keith and Kolivan. “I’ll be back later. Get some rest, Keith.” Keith rolled his eyes at her but nodded, and Krolia led Shiro out into the hall, starting down it.

They walked in a comfortable silence, Krolia humming to herself as Shiro followed her. They passed various doors and a few hallways before he broke the silence. “I wanted to thank you, for being there for Keith while I was, well…” he trailed off, scratching the back of his head.

Krolia chuckled, turning off into an empty lounge and sitting on one of the couches. Shiro followed, sitting on the couch opposite of her. “I should be the one thanking you for taking care of him while I was gone. I saw some of his memories while we were in the quantum abyss. You raised him so well. He reminds me a bit of his father.”

“I never got the chance to meet Texas. He passed away before I met Keith.” He saw a pained look flash across Krolia’s face, and he instantly regretted his words. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say anything to make you sad.”

Krolia shook her head, giving him a sad smile. “Don’t be. I saw his memories of that as well. I just wish I’d been there to help him through it.” Her smile shrank a little as she spoke, and Shiro bit his lip before he spoke.

“I’m sure he’s happy to have you here now. I remember the first few months he lived with me, he always asked about why you had left. I always told him you’d be back, and here you are. That’s all that matters now.” Krolia gave him a thankful look, and Shiro gave her a smile back.

“So how have things been since the attack? Since, you know…” He didn’t finish his sentence, knowing Krolia knew what he meant. She bobbed her head a little, her eyes closed, as though she were thinking about her response.

“It hasn’t been the easiest. I’ve gotten a lot of wary looks from people, hesitance clearly there when I would walk into a room. I don’t blame them, I’d probably do the same if I were in their shoes.” Shiro felt guilt creep up, knowing that feeling of hesitance and caution. That’s how the doctors had handled him when he’d crash landed back on Earth all those years ago.

He reached over and placed a hand on her knee, squeezing it a little. “They’ll get over that feeling. You’re too good of a person to be seen as a threat.” Krolia chuckled, smiling at his words.

“I don’t think person is the right word to use. More like alien, if we’re being technical. But thank you Shiro.” She paused for a second before continuing, her voice a little hesitant. “Did you lose anyone in the attack?”

It was Shiro’s turn to smile sadly as he sat back against the back of the couch. He clasped his hands together, squeezing a little. “I did, yeah. My-“ he paused for a second, not entirely sure how to phrase it, “-er, someone close to me was in the flight of elite fighter planes that Sendak shot down during the beginning of the attack.”

He felt the sting of tears in his eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. It’s been hectic since they got back to Earth. Since Shiro had heard about Adam’s death. He’s tried to forgive Admiral Sanda for sending his flight in, because she sacrificed her life to save the Paladins. But there was a part of him that couldn’t forgive her, that held her in that same hate filled light. The same kind he had for Zarkon and the Galra that he’d fought the past couple of years.

There was a sad irony to Adam’s last words to him. “If you decide to go, don’t expect me to be here when you get back.” Never in his wildest dreams would he think this meant Adam dying. During his time in space, he’d always held out hope that he could mend things with Adam. That they could try again, could get to the point where they got married and lived a life together outside of the Garrison.

But now… Shiro mentally shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to grieve. Not about Adam. That was too personal, too painful. He chuckled a little as he swiped at his eyes, swiping away tears that had formed. He took a shaky breath as he looked at Krolia to see her reciprocating that sad smile.

“I understand. I’m sorry you lost him.” Shiro’s eyes widened a little, and Krolia chuckled. “You and Adam, right? That’s who took care of Keith? Quantum abyss flashbacks,” she explained. Shiro sputtered for a second before he let out a laugh, his sadness leaving.

“Yeah, Adam and I took care of Keith. He wasn’t necessarily happy about the idea of adopting him. But Keith was… rambunctious, to put it nicely, and Adam liked joining in on his antics against me. They got along really well.” His voice softened and took on a reminiscent tone as he thought back to those memories.

“I definitely get that. I saw his memory of him stealing your Garrison buggie. He certainly takes after his father,” she said with a laugh. Shiro laughed with her, a smile settling on his features at that memory. That had definitely been a day for him. Iverson had given him a stern talking to for allowing it to be stolen.

They settled into a comfortable silence, but it didn’t last long, Shiro’s curiosity winning out. “How did you and Texas meet? What was he like? I know he was a firefighter, but that’s really all I know about him,” Shiro asked, a little hesitantly. Krolia turned and looked out the window, and Shiro followed her gaze. They watched the rain fall for a minute, and Shiro was beginning to think he’d crossed a line in asking.

“I’d crash landed on Earth, a couple miles away from his house in the desert. He found me and helped me get better. I could tell he was wary, which is to be expected when an alien suddenly shows up on Earth. I was nervous he’d report me to the government. But he didn’t.” Shiro looked over at her, and saw a wistful smile on her face.

“He was sweet, caring, and had a very odd accent to his voice. He helped me track down the blue lion, and I guess that’s when I first realized I had fallen in love with him. And then a few years later we had Keith.” She turned to look at him, humour in her eyes. “I wanted to name him Yorak, a proud Galran name, but he thought Keith would be a much better name.”

Shiro chuckled, nodding. “It definitely fits him. A fighter’s name, something Keith definitely is. Sometimes too much of a fighter.” He thought back to him trying to take on Zarkon on his own, and he chuckled again.

Krolia nodded, smiling. “He’s definitely a fighter. It’s done him good, helped him survive everything. It let him join the Blade and learn more about his heritage. It led me to finding him.” Her voice softened, her smile turning to that of a mother talking about her child.

“I guess he gets that from Texas. Being a firefighter meant going on instinct and running into dangerous situations. I always begged him to find a new profession, one that had less risks. But he always told me that being a firefighter was something that felt like his calling.” She chuckled again. “He was always a foolhardy man.”

They spent some more time reminiscing about Texas and Adam. Shiro learned that Texas is the reason that Keith has an immunity to spicy foods, having given him hot sauce sometimes just to see his little baby face go red from how hot it was. Krolia had tried to stop him, but he always snuck it, and she knew he did because Keith would start crying out of nowhere when Texas held him.

He told her about how Adam had asked him out the first time, an elaborate plan using the fighter jets and the PA system. Somehow, Adam had gotten Sam Holt to temporarily modify the fighter jets to let out smoke streams and had written “Go Out With Me Takashi” over the training grounds while Careless Whisper played over the speak system. He’d never let Adam live that down.

Sometime later, the rain had died down to a light drizzle, and Shiro could see the setting sun peeking out from behind the cloud cover. The room lit up a fire orange as the light filtered in through the window, and everything became bathed in a golden glow. Shiro took a moment to zone out and take in everything. It was one of the many things he had missed while in space.

He heard the door slide open, and both him and Krolia looked to see Keith walking in. He was still in his orange hospital clothes, but his hair was pulled into a braid (he suspected Kolivan had braided it for him, though he didn’t know if it was against his will or not) and he’d found a pair of grey slippers.

“There you guys are. It’s been hours and I was afraid Shiro’s old age would’ve caused you guys to get lost.” Shiro scowled at him and he stuck his tongue out. Krolia chuckled at the comment, and Shiro rolled his eyes, sighing in defeat.

“I see you’ve decided to join Kolivan in having braided hair,” Shiro said, standing and walking over to Keith. It was his turn to scowl, and he ducked his head when Shiro tried to ruffle his hair. Keith walked over and sat where he’d been sitting.

“So what did you talk about?” Keith asked, pulling his legs up under him. Shiro looked over at Krolia, who smiled a little at him. Keith looked between the two, curiosity in his eyes.

“Oh, you know, just adult things,” Krolia said. Shiro laughed, and he could hear Keith groaning, arguing that he was an adult. Shiro shook his head, turning to walk out of the room.

“Shiro,” Krolia called. He stopped and turned to look at her. “Thank you.” He smiled at her, nodding.

“Of course.” Krolia smiled at him and he walked out, the door sliding shut behind him. He could hear Keith groaning again, and he guessed it was from a comment about his hair. A smile danced on his lips as he made his way to the memorial room.

There were more windows in this room, and the clouds had left, letting in the fire light from the sunset. It danced across the memorial wall, various plagues glinting as the light hit them. Shiro settled onto a familiar bench, looking at the wall.

“Adam W.” shone back at him from where the sunlight hit. His ID picture looked back at him, his stoic face betraying the emotions he had when he was around Shiro. He smiled sadly at the memorial. “We did good Adam. I wish you could’ve been here to see it. You’re truly a hero.”


End file.
